“Even from death row, Keith has dedicated his life to teaching people how to live,” Frances Currie SC ’26 said to the audience.
On April 10 at 7 p.m., Currie and other student organizers from the 5C Prison Abolition Collective took the stage in Edmunds Ballroom to introduce artist and death row prisoner Keith LaMar at the fourth Freedom First concert taking place at the 5Cs.
After a brief introduction, the organizers played a video, narrated by LaMar and animated by another artist, which described the circumstances of his imprisonment. At age 19, LaMar had killed a man in self-defense. While serving his sentence for that crime, he was convicted of additional murder charges stemming from an 11-day prison siege, which he did not participate in. His incarceration began in 1989 and is set to end when he faces execution on Jan. 13, 2027.
As demonstrated in the video, LaMar writes descriptive spoken-word poetry from confinement about his experiences and hopes for the abolition of prisons. He often collaborates with musicians, combining his poetry with their unique jazz performances.
“Even from death row, Keith has dedicated his life to teaching people how to live,” Frances Currie SC ’26 said to the audience.”
“Jazz is married to Keith’s spoken word poetry,” organizer Oli Yoo SC ’26 said. “His words are elevated by the music, and this art moves people to action: to learn about unfair prison systems, to donate, to become involved in the planning for the next concert. This means everything to our friend Keith.”
LaMar is currently detained at the Ohio State Penitentiary, avidly campaigning for his freedom. He has spent 31 years in a solitary confinement cell the size of a small closet. However, his restrictions do not confine his work. He now dedicates much of his life to both helping and educating others through art.
LaMar’s organization, Justice For Keith LaMar, raises money to cover LaMar’s legal fees and his creative, activist endeavors. Thanks to the dedicated work of the 5C Prison Abolition Collective, the Claremont Colleges have raised the most money out of all the institutions with which he has worked.
The 5C Prison Abolition Collective organizes structured campaigns and spaces, with the goal of reallocating the colleges’ resources to support the abolition of unjust criminalization systems, and devotes significant effort to advocating for incarcerated individuals. Working with LaMar’s campaign manager, Amy Gordiejew, students fight for justice for LaMar, working to share his story. Organizers Currie, Yoo and Maria Riker PZ ’28, along with many other student members, collaborated with Gordiejew to bring LaMar’s show to Pomona once again.
“Every time I have watched these concerts, I have the same visceral reaction,” Riker said. “I was in awe at how many people showed up to watch and support. The collective energy in the room was incredibly moving.”
On the night of, the jazz musicians readied their instruments, prepping for LaMar to phone in at 7:30 p.m. — when the Ohio State Penitentiary permits him to make phone calls.
In the minutes leading up to LaMar’s speech, a captive student audience listened to student speakers from the 5C Prison Abolition Collective and Mary Valdemar, co-founder of Chicano Indigenous Community for Culturally Conscious Advocacy and Action and co-chair of the Ethnic Studies Inland Empire Coalition at San Bernardino Valley College.
As the concert began, the organizers realized that the combination of Youngstown’s spotty cell reception and strict prison calling hours meant that it would require a couple of tries to get LaMar on the line.
“That is just a reality of calling in from death row,” Yoo said. “We can see the reality of how difficult conditions are to connect with people in solitary confinement for that short amount of time.”
Concert-goers were struck by these technical mishaps, which revealed the intense restrictions LaMar and other prisoners face every day.
“It showed that he is able to express himself right now only to the extent that those who control him allow him to express himself,” attendee Wilbur Moffitt PZ ’28 said. “Censorship of art is a censorship of activism.”
The musicians quickly adapted to the technical issues, seamlessly improvising emotive jazz pieces until LaMar could rejoin. Currie noted LaMar’s and the musicians’ persistence and commitment.
“It really puts into perspective how many constraints are forced upon him,” Currie said. “And yet, Keith and his team keep pushing forward.”
Once issues were resolved, LaMar immediately began his performance. His poetry was projected on stage, allowing attendees to feel the weight of each word as he spoke alongside the live music.
Beyond this benefit concert, LaMar’s activism has resonated with many across the nation — particularly with students. Riker was first introduced to LaMar through a high school book club and has since visited him three times.
“He has played a huge role in my life, supporting me in hard moments, educating me constantly about what it means to be alive and how to make the most of the life we have been given,” Riker said.
Currie shares this sentiment. Through email, Currie and LaMar have struck up many thought-provoking conversations. Currie explained that hearing LaMar describe what motivates him to endure the confines of the prison system has altered the way that she views the meaning of life itself.
“Life isn’t about what happens to you but what you do about what happens to you,” LaMar wrote in an email to Currie. “It’s about your attitude and how you respond.”
Although LaMar’s fight for justice has now been ongoing for over 31 years, he has not lost motivation. LaMar, along with student organizers, emphasized the connection between his story and broader injustices — such as freedom for Palestine and justice for Diego Rios, a Claremont resident who was killed by Claremont police during a mental health crisis. LaMar believes in liberation that extends beyond his own case; he advocates for the idea that no one is free until everyone is.
“It’s so rare to hear the perspective of someone who has had everything taken from them by a state,” Moffitt said. “He had every right to resent the system that put him there, and he turned it into a message of love, hope and freedom.”
As his execution date on Jan. 13 draws closer, LaMar remains committed to expressing his love for music and art, and his solidarity with people who have been wrongfully convicted and all victims of the prison industrial complex.
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